Equipment

KBA, the German packaging printing press manufacturer, has maintained its positive outlook for 2008 despite reporting an "unsatisfactory" performance in the first quarter of the year.

Sales in the three months to 31 March were down 27% on the same period last year to €301.7m (£240m). However, the company said there had been a 5% increase in orders.

The company reported an operating loss of €5m in the first quarter, down from a profit of €13.5m this time last year.

KBA said the state of the global economy, a weak dollar and rising oil prices were still a concern, but it was confident that the upcoming Drupa trade fair would provide a necessary boost.

At the end of March 2008, the company estimated annual sales of $1.6bn for the year, generating pre-tax profits of around €63.2m, the same as 2007.

President and chief executive Albrecht Bolza-Schünemann said: "The outlook for the second half-year will be much clearer once the figures for Drupa have been assessed."

KBA will demonstrate closed-loop quality control for packaging on a six-colour Rapida 162 at Drupa, which runs from 29 May to 11 June.

The press will be fitted with the firm's DensiTronic PDF tool, which scans sheets produced during makeready at 330dpi and checks them against the original PDF for errors.

KBA will exhibit on stand B45 in Hall 16 of the Messe Düsseldorf.